5 Best Movies to Watch From Annapurna Television

The bizarre case of Kathleen Peterson's death, which has yet to be fully resolved to this day, has been the subject of many a media article. The press covered it relentlessly when it all started in 2001, then a critically-acclaimed documentary was released in 2004. This was followed up with a sequel in 2018, and now more than 20 years after the deed, a dramatization has come out in the form of a miniseries. You'd be forgiven for thinking the latter couldn't possibly have anything new to offer, but you would also be wrong. In fact, the series is a masterclass in storytelling. Led by an a-list cast (of which Colin Firth is the absolute standout) and told with such layered depth, The Staircase is a must-watch not just for true crime but for film and TV fans everywhere. 

Utilizing time jumps and crafty transitions, The Staircase isn't set at one particular time, which is fitting considering the trial lasted for 16 years. It also isn't centered on just the mystery or the family, but instead is just as interested in the making of the 2004 documentary that introduced (and humanized) the case to an even wider sect of people. If you're looking for a neat ending or some form of satisfying retribution, you won't find it here. But you will be getting an engrossing meditation on truth and its elusiveness

Genre: Crime, Drama

Actor: Colin Firth, Dane DeHaan, Juliette Binoche, Michael Stuhlbarg, Odessa Young, Olivia DeJonge, Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Rosemarie DeWitt, Sophie Turner, Tim Guinee, Toni Collette

Rating: TV-MA

With its first episode, The Changeling might feel less scary and more romantic and historical than how a horror fantasy would seem like. The series shifts in and out of flashbacks, sometimes even having a flashback within a flashback, with dreamlike sequences that makes it take a while to figure out when and where the story is taking place. This causes the series to have some unusual pacing that might turn off viewers wanting a quick scare. But there’s a certain mystery to it, a certain anxiety captured as Apollo and Emmy disobey the Brazilian witch, as it recalls those negligent parents in familiar fantastic fairy tales. And as the series makes their flashbacks, there’s a certain fear that Apollo and Emmy might redo the same mistakes their immigrant parents have done before them. It makes for an intriguing take on the novel by Victor LaValle, one that captures a realistic fear that isn’t easy to depict.

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Adina Porter, Alexis Louder, Clark Backo, Jared Abrahamson, Lakeith Stanfield, Samuel T. Herring

Rating: TV-MA

The curious case of Paul T. Goldman could’ve been a simple true-crime documentary or a fictionalized series—instead, the resulting project is a strange and hilarious blend of both. Behind-the-scenes footage intercut reenactments intercut interviews. The show is as much about Goldman’s reaction to the scam (which is admittedly way more interesting) as it is about the actual scam. You should watch for the spectacle, but stay for the larger-than-life character that is Goldman—he’s a goof, but an endearing and fascinating one nonetheless. 

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Dee Wallace, Dennis Haysbert, Frank Grillo, James Remar, Josh Pais, Melinda McGraw, Paul Ben-Victor, Rosanna Arquette, W. Earl Brown

Look, no one expects a series about sex-loving anthropomorphic food products who also happen to be great at puns to be that serious. The worst it can be is boring, and thankfully, Sausage Party: Foodtopia is anything but. Each scene is rammed with outrageously gross acts, so the shock factor never wanes, but beyond that, there’s also something to be said about how creative it gets with gastronomy, and how little care it gives to the puny humans. Bodies are defiled and deformed, forcing you to think about how we treat others too. Don't get me wrong, the show is dumb, but its dumbness is the intentional kind, the kind that unwittingly or not peddles poignant commentary about how we live.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: David Krumholtz, Edward Norton, Kristen Wiig, Michael Cera, Sam Richardson, Seth Rogen, Will Forte

Rating: TV-MA

If you've been following the bubbly personality that is Vanessa Bayer since her days in SNL, I Love That For You will come as a delight. It showcases the best of Bayer's abilities, which is to induce both hilarious cringe and endearing awe, and it features an ensemble that comes with its own strengths. Comic vet and fellow SNL alum Molly Shannon surprisingly delivers much of the show's emotional punch as she plays an aging host who longs to be seen as more than just the artificially happy persona she's required to be. Meanwhile, Jenifer Lewis plays the CEO whose no-nonsense girlbossness adds a much-needed comic acidity to the humor. 

In a show that largely satirizes the oversized artifice and pomp of the sales and showbiz industry, it matters that the leads are weighty enough to ground us through their journey. That's thankfully the case in I Love That For You, which amuses and affects in equal measure.

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Ayden Mayeri, Jenifer Lewis, Matt Rogers, Molly Shannon, Paul James, Vanessa Bayer

Rating: TV-MA